Casa San Pablo

Casa San Pablo is a rustic slice of traditional Filipine life on the outskirts of San Pablo City, which is a small city/big town in the District of Laguna.  We thought of Uncle Bert a lot during our stay at Casa San Pablo, which was very charming and full of many authentic, quirky touches, such as the entrance to our room

 

the furniture and decor in our room

 

the original art work in the room

 the amazing aerial tree roots

and the beautiful, lush gardens

Unfortunately, we were not in the best position to appreciate them because we had arrived so late after a 5 hour traffic jam, and because our room had very thin curtains that could not block out the full fluorescent lights and talk and laughter and music that filtered in from the Accenture team building youngsters outside until the early hours of the morning.  It also did not block out the 5am dawn and roosters.

No matter, Katy and Mama decided to head out exploring early while we waited for breakfast to start and Dada to wake up.  

Casa San Pablo belongs to the Gomez family, who originally had coconut plantations on the land.  Boots Alcantara runs the Casa San Pablo bed and breakfast as a side business on land belonging to his grandmother.  His parents built this beautiful, elegant, gorgeously decorated house, which is next to the b&b.

Boots really impressed Katy with his shell collection, and Katy is very excited to take her own collection to the next level.  She keeps asking us to bring her to Boracay, where Boots said he found many of his shells.  For some reason, when Katy is shy, she tends to stick her bottom jaw out (see photos above also).  We noticed that her cousin Ella also had the same habit too when she was littler, so we're not sure if it's nature or nurture, but it's a sure sign Katy is feeling shy.

The best thing about Casa San Pablo was the warm welcome and hospitality we received from Boots and his sister.  They have a cousin living in Minneapolis!  Boots noticed us playing outside and started chatting with us.  We commented on his beautiful home, and he invited us in for a tour.  They are collectors and supporters of local artists and artisans, and the house was really very beautifully decorated.  Katy enjoyed the hammocks outside the main house.

And she loved playing on the old-fashioned see-saw, which you don't see much around these days.